The present invention relates generally to the field of increasing retention rates in an educational institution while significantly improving the educational experience of its students. More particularly, the present invention provides means for proactively identifying students in need, whether the need is emotional, physical, spiritual, or scholastic, and providing an avenue to assist those students.
Retention rate has been defined by the federal government and is required to be reported on an annual basis by educational institutions. As defined, “program retention” tracks the full-time student in a degree program over time to determine whether the student has completed the program. Retention rate is an important statistic for educational institutions, from both a financial and emotional perspective. Retention rates are viewed by prospective students and their parents and a low retention rate will likely lead to the educational institution as being viewed as less desirable, and may even affect the institution's ranking, leading to a decrease in the applicant pool. Moreover, when a student discontinues his or her studies, the educational institution suffers a large financial loss in terms of future tuition payments as well as potential financial contributions as an alumnus. Other reasons educational institutions are so interested in improving retention rates include the prevention of loss for the student as a member of society in development of critical thinking skills, preparation of the student for the working environment, and increasing the student's tolerance of individual differences. It is also important to note, that as a student progresses in his or her studies, the community within the educational institution becomes invested in each student, hoping to nurture the student not only academically, but personally as they accomplish their educational goals. When a student discontinues his or her studies, this investment is lost.
Once a student is in struggle, unless identified and resolved, the student may suffer poor performance in his or her studies or a lack of interest in progressing at the institution. If unresolved, the student may terminate his or her studies at that institution. Where the student's needs can be identified and assisted at the onset of such an issue, before those needs lead to a decrease in performance, the likelihood that the student will terminate his or her studies decreases significantly. This results in an increased retention rate for the educational institution and a correlative increase in desirability of the institution by prospective students. It also results in a happier student and academic community as a whole. Moreover, as distinguished from present retention systems, a system that addresses non-academic, as well as academic needs of the student is necessary to attain the highest retention rate achievable by the educational institution. See Levitz, Highlights from 4 Institutions Getting Results, Spring 1998, Strategies, pg. 157. It also results in a happier student and academic community.
The dilemma presented is that many students in the midst of struggle are unaware of the resources available to them. “Institutions need to take these initiatives, rather than expecting the student to take them, because many students are not in a position to commit themselves fully to or even understand the many and right resources of the institution and their accompanying benefits.” Levitz & Noel, 1999, pg. 127.
The correlation between the ability to identify a student in need and increased retention is not novel. There have been many theories proposed on the main causes of retention of students in an educational institution. Most relevant, in 1971 the Spady Model was introduced stating that the interaction between student characteristics and campus environment play a large role in student retention. Braxton & Hirschy (2005). Theoretical Developments in the study of college student departure. In Siedman, A. (Ed.). College student retention: Formula for student success. Praeger Press. Since then, one scholar has turned retention success into a mathematical formula. Dr. Alan Seidman's formula proposes that: retention=early identification+(early+intensive+continuous) intervention. Id. Dr. Seidman's formula has been implemented in different forms at various educational institutions. The student provides information to the educational institution through a written or computerized assessment; the institution receives those assessments and determines whether the student is in need. Moreover such assistance to a student identified by such programs is generally limited to academic needs. Other programs use the financial aid office of the institution as a source of student information that may be used in determining whether the student is in a class of students that are at a higher risk of having special needs such as adults and distance learning students. A representative program in place at Old Dominion University evaluates high school GPA and SAT scores to create an index used to identify at-risk first-year students before they begin their first semester and offers them assistance before they encounter difficulty.
The University of Arizona, however, has adopted and implemented a program called “Success Net” wherein instructors of freshmen students in their first semester are able to identify students in need to the student's faculty advisor through a referral network. While such a system has been effective for the University in improving retention rates, its focus on freshmen students and faculty for the identification of students in need is narrow and its implementation is inefficient. Moreover referral to the student's faculty advisor may well foreclose resolution of issues outside of academia.
Past systems implemented by educational institutions for the purpose of increasing retention rates systems have focused primarily on either monitoring student performance by the grades received in their courses of study or in assessments taken as the student enters the educational institution. Other systems give advice to students in need via computer dialog or otherwise. Thus, it is desirable to establish a system that is efficient in identifying students in need at any time during their educational studies, communicating those needs to persons with the ability to provide assistance, and addressing the needs of that student at the earliest possible stage.